Articles
Mumbet's Bracelet
 |
Bracelet - Late eighteenth century Double strand of gold beads made into a bracelet with etched clasp L. 5 3/4 in. (14.6 cm), w. in. (1.3 cm) Engraved, inside clasp: Mumbet Gift of William Minot, 1884 This bracelet is at the Massachusetts Historical Society 1154 Boylston Street Boston, Massachusetts |
The gold beads worn by Elizabeth "Mumbet" Freeman as a necklace as shown in Susan Ridley Sedgwick's 1811 miniature portrait of Mumbet and the bracelet is in the possesion of the MHS in Boston. Prior to her death in 1829, Mumbet gave the beads to Catharine Maria Sedgwick, daughter of Judge Theodore Sedgwick. Some of the beads were apparently lost over the years, and Catharine had the remainder remade into a double strand bracelet with gold separators between beads to replace those lost. The clasp with its rococo-revival engraving probably dates from this time, approximately 1840. The bracelet can be seen at the MHS.